Archive
Monthly Archives: November 2012
- by Tara Maya
Update on #NaNoWriMo 24 – Outlined Scene to Draft
 |
| This is why Da Vinci never wanted to show his drafts to anyone. |
I realized today why my Thanksgiving was so conflict free. My mom wasn’t there. She arrived today to make up for the lack of exciting family drama. Yay! (Just kidding, Mom, if you’re reading this…) Despite that, I’m going strong on my NaNo novel, and I’m more or less on schedule. (*snort*)
I’ve built up the novel by accretion from the bones of an outline, creating richer and richer outlines as I go.
I promised a sample of moving from a Scene Outline to a Draft. Here it is:
Scene Outline / Notes:
Chapter Five, Scene One:
– Knight’s Lounge – Meet all the Big Players
– They summon Walida to ask her about the Key
– She says they have a bigger problem; someone is has used the October Key
– Tiffany says she knows who has the Key: Kenny Snow
– Maybe Snow killed Walida?
– Clare stands by her other theory, that it was Dorcas
– Must do everything to safeguard the Key
– Arkane looks right at Brandon
Here’s how it came out in the wash. Keep in mind that this an extremely rough draft, not the final version. However, I’ve gone ahead and used full sentences, quote marks and as much of the correct Voice as possible, even in the draft, on the off-chance that some of it is usable. Much, much rougher drafting is possible, but I’ve found that it’s not worth it to forgo quotation marks, for instance, because putting them in during revisions is a pain in the bahunkus.
I chose this scene because it’s a Bridging Scene not a Juicy Scene. Juicy scenes are the ones you can’t wait to write. You might not even need notes on those, because you’ve already run them so many times in your head. Bridging Scenes are the sinews of the novel; they do important work, but they’re not as sexy in their own right. This makes them harder to do, but fatal to skip.
Sorry for the length, but I wanted to include everything touched on in the notes, to show how the wordcount unfolded. Whether you read it or not, you can scan down and see how just a few notes were enough to keep me going for a full scene.
Draft of Chapter 5, Scene 1:
–>
SCENE 1 – Earth; Cleargate High School; Lounge Room
The secret lair of the mystics on campus turned out to be the locker lounge behind the Small Gym. The décor a stand of extra lockers, some cabinets, and four thrift-store reject couches arranged haphazardly around a shag rug. The place smelled like Channel Number 5 mixed with eau’d’sock, which wasn’t surprising because the metal two doors in the back wall led to the Girls and Boys locker rooms respectively.
The room had magic however. Deep, old and strong. Also, one entire wall was lined with mirrors…magic mirrors.
Leth entered ahead of me, and then Myron. I could see Leth’s ears and faint glow clearly in the mirror. Myron’s reflection showed a faceless black silhouette.
Shit.
I knew what the mirror would show if I entered that room. If I balked now, though, it would look suspicious in itself. My masque would never hold up….
What about the Key?
The Key was to Dust what a wind tunnel was to a handy vac. It kicked magic ass. I didn’t know how strong the spell on the mirror was, but maybe the Key’s magic was stronger. It was my only shot. I clutched the Key in my pocket and murmured silently, Masque! I stepped into the room, glancing at my reflection…
For a moment, my skin shimmered and looked greenish, but then it was gone, and my human masque reflected back at me. Oh, hell, yeah! I just hoped no one noticed the flicker.
Damian and Tiffany were already waiting, seated on opposite couches. In the mirror, Tiffany glowed, while Damian… had a black silhouette. He wasn’t a ghost, though, so what did that mean? Tiffany didn’t seem bothered by it, or at least, she didn’t seem surprised by it. As always, she acted jittery around Damian, as if he were a lap dog she expected to show signs of rabies any second now.
“This is the Knight’s Lounge,” said Clare. “It’s where the Knights of the Year used to hang out. This year… we’re trying to get the Knights going again.”
“The Knights of the Year?” I repeated. “That sounds really…”
Clare crossed her arms and glared at me.
“Fey,” I concluded, grinning.
“Are you going to explain what that means?” asked Leth.
“I’ll let the grown-ups do that,” said Clare.
Two adults entered the lounge. One was the guidance counselor, Mr. Cambiel, and the other was Mr. Arkane.
There was no doubt whatsoever that Arkane recognized me. He looked right at me, then at my human reflection in the mirror, and then at me again, with one eyebrow raised. I noticed that his reflection in the mirror looked human too…except for his jet black eyes. He lowered dark sunglasses and smirked at me. Our little secret, his expression seemed to say. We both bat for the other team.
Mr. Cambiel noticed me, and a frown appeared on his brow. “I don’t remember seeing you here before, young man. Your name is….?”
“Brandon,” supplied Arkane smoothly. “Transfer student.”
The two men exchanged a glance, Cambiel somewhat arch, as if issuing a challenge, and Arkane firm, as if answering it.
“Same with us,” said Myron, including Leth in his lie.
Cambiel looked at Arkane, who shrugged.
“We are here to convene the Knights…”
“It’s really just me,” said Clare.
“…to discuss the murder of Wahida [lastname]. Was her spirit about to tell you anything?”
“We were questioning her when she dashed off after her cat. Then her Door came, and poof, she was gone.”
“I will call her back,” said Mr. Cambiel.
“I thought your kind weren’t supposed to do witchcraft?”
“My kind do not need to do witchcraft.”
“What do you call this?”
“A miracle.”
A glowing door appeared in the wall, and Wahida stepped out.
“Can you tell us who killed you?”
“No.”
“That was useful,” Damian remarked.
“I have not been sent to tell you of my own killer,” said Walida. “But to warn you of a much greater danger to all the planes of the Omniverse. The Key has been used.”
I jolted. Oh shit.
But they spoke about it as though they had no clue I had it and I began to wonder if they meant some other key. Maybe there were hundreds of keys wandering around with the power to travel to different dimensional planes, create showers of candy and overpower magic mirrors.
“I know who has the key,” Tiffany said unexpectedly.
I stiffened.
“Kenny Snow.”
You could have smashed me with an anvil.
“Have you seen him?”
“No, be we know he’s been seeking it. He must have succeeded.”
“Perhaps,” said Cambiel, taping the side of the chair.
“Did Snow kill Wahida?”
“Why would he kill a Homecoming Queen aspirant?” Clare asked.
“She was also a witch. With her power… I must be frank. We were considering the possibility that she would be chosen to become a Knight.”
“Oh. Maybe my theory was wrong.”
“What was your theory?”
Clare explained about Dorcas and discussed her plan to draw Dorcas out by posing a Homecoming princess. I squirmed a bit when she came to the candy rain. Cambial shook his head disapprovingly.
“We discussed this when you became a Knight, Clare. You aren’t supposed to use magic openly.”
“I don’t use magic secretly. Blame Brandon.”
“I didn’t…”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The adults didn’t have any Wisdom Of The Old Ones to share with us, just nodded and murmured, “Carry on.”
I thought I had escaped unscathed, but Arkane cornered me at the last minute.
When no one else remained, he grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and shoved me up against the wall.
“I thought better of you, Brandon,” he hissed. “When did you start working for Kenny Snow?”
“I’m not!”
“How’d you get here, then?”
“I don’t know!”
“Are you using?”
“Using what, Mr. Arkane?” I blinked at him innocently.
He snarled and let me go. “You may fool the humans, but you don’t fool me. You don’t fool Cambiel either. He’s more likely to kill you than I am.”
“Is he a demon too?”
“Oh, he’s something much worse than a demon. He’s an angel.”
No wonder Mr. Cambiel was such a stuffed shirt.
“I’ll be watching you,” Mr. Arkane added. “One misstep, I and will make you wish you never heard of Earth.” He glowered, but I must not have looked sufficiently terrified, because then he got nasty. “And don’t think you’ll get out of that geometry quiz on Friday!”
- by Tara Maya
Help! I’m Just Starting #NaNoWriMo! (Emergency Tip Day 1)
 |
| “I’m late starting my NaNoWriMo novel!” |
Only a crazy, masochistic writer would start NaNoWriMo in the last week of the month.
I know. I’ve done that four years in a row!
Perhaps you find yourself in a similar position. Well, never fear! While I will continue my NaNoWriMo Tips for the month, I’ll also show you how to SMOOSH the Tips into seven days! Wacky, huh?
As with my monthly tips, the basic idea is to plan first (four days) and write afterward (three days). Yes, that leaves only three days to write the beginning, middle and end of your novel…you’ll need full days, don’t expect to do this if all you have is two hours a day. But if you do have a full work day to devote, you can write a novel this fast.
Here it is in brief:
Planning
Day One: Refine Your Idea – Brainstorm a Log Line and create a Beat Sheet
Day Two: Expand Your Idea – Deepen Your Characters and Spice up Your Plot
Day Three: Outline Your Novel – Create a Scene by Scene Outline
Day Four: Outline Your Scenes – Scene Helper
Writing
Day Five: Draft Your Scenes – From Scene to Draft – First Third of Your Novel
Day Six: Keep Going on that Draft – Second Third of Your Novel
Day Seven: Wow, you have a whole extra day to write, plenty of time – Third Third.
 |
| If the old time pulp fiction authors could write a novel in 3 days, so can you. Oh, right, they weren’t on Twitter. Never mind… |
Day One: Refine your idea.
Step One: Create a Log Line
Step Two: Write a Blurb
Step Three: Make a Beat Sheet
Step One: Create a Log Line
By the end of the first day, you’ll want to have a beat sheet for your novel. That means you need to brainstorm, research and create a story arc for your novel all in one day. A good way to see if you have a strong initial idea is to start with your log line. A log line is the one line description of your book that captures the “high concept” inherent in your novel… or low concept, if its that kind of novel.
Let’s assume you have some sort of vague idea. You need to tighten that up into the two essential elements of story: a person with a problem. Until you have a person and that person has a problem, there’s no story, no novel.
Take your vague idea and start brainstorming related ideas. Here’s a simple Three Step Guide to Brainstorming Online:
1. Make word associations about your idea until you have at least twenty related words. Pick the three most interesting ones.
2. Google each of those words separately and together. Scan the results for cool stuff that inspires you further.
3. Ask What If…? questions.
Repeat as needed until you have a character with a problem. Then write down a one or two line summary of that person and problem. Refine the wording until it makes a catchy and succinct a log line.
Example:
My vague idea: A holiday paranormal / urban fantasy story, like my October Knight story, that revolves around September.
My brainstorming words: September, Back to School, Ghost Hunter
My one or two line summary: Clare is a ghost-hunter, but when she starts at a new school, a ghost manages to throw her out of her own body and take it over. Now Clare is the ghost, and the one being hunted.
My log line: When a ghost-hunter becomes a ghost, she must get her body back from an evil spirit or remain that way for eternity.
Step Two: Write a Blurb
You’ll probably have an idea for a blurb, or paragraph long summary, at the same time as you think of your log line. In fact, you might find it easier to write a paragraph than a one-liner. Write it down now. The blurb can be like one you’d read on the back of a book (not giving away the ending), or include the “spoiler” (ending).
You need to know your ending going in, however. If you haven’t included the ending in your blurb, write that down too.
When I sat down to write
Example:
When I sat down to write the blurb for September Knight, I decided I wanted to have some fun with the story and include a meta-story that pokes a little (good natured) fun at the Young Adult Paranormal genre itself. There are certain conventions of the genre, like Insta-love and the Love Triangle that are totally cliche — instead of avoiding them, I’d include them but draw attention to them.
Blurb for September Knight:
I know the rules.
First, I find out that I’m heir to a great destiny and a special power.
Check.
Second, I find myself torn between two hot guys, preferably a vamp and werewolf.
Check. (Ok, make that a vamp and a Mysterious Bad Boy of an Unspecified Supernatural Origin.)
Third, I find my enemies before they find me.
Um. Oops.
Unfortunately one of my enemies has found me first and stolen my body – and my power – and – this is what really burns me – even my hottie vamp admirer. Seriously? The point is…
Instead of being the ghost-hunter, I’m the ghost.
Step Three: Make a Beat Sheet
Next, you take your summary paragraph and work it into a beat sheet. See the Tips (especially Create a Three Act Beat Sheet) listed below for help with this if you’ve never made a beat sheet before.
Example:
Here’s the Beat Sheet for September Knight. I use a Four Act structure, but if you’re not sure how many acts you want, default to Three–you can’t go wrong with Three Acts.
I actually started by writing a one line summary for each of my acts:
WEEK 1: ENROLLMENT
Clare, who recently tried to commit suicide, finds out her father is a Ghulstryker, and so is she. Meets Zola the ghost.
WEEK 2: TRY OUTS
Zola steals Clare’s body and tries out for all the things Clare wanted to do but was afraid to do.
WEEK 3: CHOOSING TEAMS
Clare takes back her body, but then fails at everything and disappoints her parents.
WEEK 4: OPEN HOUSE
Clare takes back her body again: must perform in the play, on the squad and the game.
Then I expanded each of those into three chapters (since I know this book will have twelve chapters).
WEEK 1: ENROLLMENT
Clare, who recently tried to commit suicide, finds out her father is a Ghulstryker, and so is she. Meets Zola the ghost.
1. 1. Labor Day [Opening conflict- Protagonist in daily life]
1 2. Back to School [Resistance to the opportunity – Meets Two Hotties]
3. Open Enrollment [Opportunity for change- Point of No Return]
WEEK 2: TRY OUTS
Zola steals Clare’s body and tries out for all the things Clare wanted to do but was afraid to do.
4. The Theatre Scene [Entering the New Situation] – Zola takes her body and auditions for play
5. The Cheerleader Squad [Meeting Friends, Enemies or Romance]– Zola auditions for the squad
6. The Soccer Team [Problem Brings Them Together.] – Zola tries out for soccer
WEEK 3: CHOOSING TEAMS
Clare takes back her body, but then fails at everything and disappoints her parents.
7. The Knights of the Semi-Circular Table [Problem Drives Them Apart] – Clare takes back her body
8. Flunking [Crisis Hits] —Clare ruins her life and gives the body back to Zola
9. A Better Me [Terrible Secret Revealed] – Clare finds out that Zola is a vampire
WEEK 4: OPEN HOUSE
Clare takes back her body again: must perform in the play, on the squad and the game.
10. Performance Anxiety [All Seems Lost]
11. The Rise of Mordrock [Self-Sacrifice & Symbolic Death] – Clare fights to send him back
12. Clare Deals [Final Showdown / Conclusion]– Wrap up
Here’s some other steps to do on Day One:
- by Tara Maya
NaNoWriMo Tip #24: Signs Your Novel Is Waving Red Flags
 |
| Beyoncé leads a post-apocalyptic revolution. In lingerie, as one does. |
These are my personal tips for NaNoWriMo. You know the drill. Take only what works.
Writer’s block is almost always a red flag warning you about some problem with the novel. (The only other cause for writer’s block is severe personal stress, which may be negative, like a divorse, or positive, like a move, but either way absorbs all your mental energy. However, that’s outside the scope of these Tips. If you are in such a situation, give yourself a break and take care of the issue first.)
One of these red flags, and one that I’ve faced many times, is Ignorance. You sit down ready to write a scene…it’s right there in your outline… it should be no problem. You lift your fingers, like a piano prodigy, to wrest sweet story music from your keyboard, and…
Nothing.
The scene is not working because there’s something that’s stumping you. For me, it’s often something like the place and time of the scene. Sometimes it’s a deeper problem though. Occasionally, it’s something god-awful like a Plot Abyss At The Heart of the Whole Damn Book. (Shudder.)
Here are a couple of typical problems waiting to ambush you:
1. Logistical Problems.
Logistical issues trip me up all the time. This should have been ironed out a long time ago thanks to prepping my Map and Calendar, but I may have (1) neglected to do that, or (2) changed some critical thing in the plot that makes the map or calendar obsolete or (3) realize as I sit down to write the scene that what I planned so carefully was completely idiotic. It makes no sense, but I’ve already written the previous scenes that way, and now how am I going to make sense of it? Are they on the West slope or the East slope? Is it day or night? Is she wearing pants or a skirt? Are there five or seven goblins, and are they armed with spears or swords?
It’s amazing how much trivial crap like this can mess me up.
2. Character Issues.
A worse problem occurs when I’m about to write a scene and realize that I have no idea why my character is doing X. Usually that’s because I don’t know my character well enough—he’s a minor character, perhaps, there for plot purposes, who is still a cipher to me—or because I do know my character, and know he wouldn’t do X. Yet X he must.
Deep inside, the Three Laws of Wribotics won’t allow me to harm or by inaction allow harm to come to the basic integrity of my Character’s character, so if I command myself to do so, my head implodes.
3. Plot Holes.
A third kind of problem is the inverse of the above. I have some marvelous scene in which my characters have an exciting and dramatic conflict…and no logical way to include it. My plotroad has more plotholes than a country lane.
The absolute worst case scenario—and I have weathered it and lived to tell the tale—is if I realize that the entire premise of my book makes no sense at all. Now, it’s in order to spare you this Horror From Beyond that I’ve suggested outlining your novel a thousand different ways before writing it, to discover any such Abysmal threats long before you’ve written 35,000 words. But. Maybe you didn’t listen to that, or maybe you somehow overlooked the Gaping Chasm of Logic until now by sheer blind stubbornness.
If any of these situations has befallen you, first let me pat you on the back and reassure you.
There, there. It’s all going to be okay.
It can be fixed. All you have to do is apply the Universal Remedy for all Writing Problems. Okay, chocolate, but that’s not where I was going. I mean, of course, brainstorming.
 |
| Most plot holes can be plugged with chocolate. |
Sit down and brainstorm the logistics. Consult your map, or, if you skipped that stage, you bad child, draw one.
Sit down and brainstorm about who this character is and what motivates him. If he would never do this, ask what would makehim do this, or what he would do instead.
Sit down and brainstorm the plot possibilities.
As always when you brainstorm, throw out the first few cliché and obvious ideas. Don’t take the easy way out, either.
1. If your problem is logistical, don’t leave it vague and hope no one will notice.
Example: “Julie wasn’t sure how far she ran, but soon she reached the gas station…”
Julie can be unsure how far she ran, but youshould have a clue.
2. If your problem is character motivation, don’t insert an inexplicable mood swing.
Example: “Normally, Julie was hard working and never broke any rules, but today, for no reason at all, she decided to smoke weed on the pier while shooting pigeons with a BB gun.”
The reader will assume you are being ironic, that Julie is actually lazy and slightly wacked, not that she is normally hardworking. This works only if you are trying to be a smart aleck. Or if you have established a damn good reason for Julie’s character to change so dramatically.
3. If your problem is plot, don’t use coincidence, chance or deus ex machine.
Example: “Half way through the fight, Julie suddenly remembered her third grade Hapkido classes and defeated the five ninjas. She rushed to the computer. How would she break in? Suddenly she remembered her seventh grade nerd boyfriend who had taught her and how to hack high security government computers.”
Just because a bunch of Hollywood B-movies jump off this cliff, does that mean you have to do it too?
If you prefer these Tips as an ebook you can buy it here for $0.99:
- by Tara Maya
Update on NaNoWriMo #23 – From Outline to Draft
I thought I would share how I am doing with the multiple Outlining methods I mentioned during the earlier Tips. I’ve used all of them. Some I can’t show today, such as the Sticky-Note Outline, because I haven’t taken a photo of my Sticky-Note notebook yet. (I will try to do that over the next couple of days.) However, I’ll show how I went from Beat Sheet to Detailed Outline to Draft.
Here’s the Beat Sheet template I used (with 15 beats):
Act I:
1. Opening conflict.
2. Protagonist is shown in daily life, before transformation
3. Opportunity for change.
4. Resistance to the opportunity.
5. Point of No Return—Opportunity Accepted.
Act II:
6. Entering the New Situation.
7. Meeting Friends, Enemies or Romance.
8. Problem Brings Them Together.
9. Problem Drives Them Apart.
10. Crisis Hits
Act III:
11. Terrible Secret Revealed or Attack Starts
12. All Seems Lost
13. Self-Sacrifice or Symbolic Death
14. Final Showdown
15. Conclusion (Wedding Bells, Award Ceremony, Pile of Bodies or Ride into Sunset)
When I moved to a 12 Chapter structure, it meant that some beats would share a chapter. Not surprisingly, the order of the beats also wiggled a bit in execution. Of course, that’s fine. Also notice that I switched from Three Acts to Four. (Pictured: the Beat Sheet for another book, September Knight.)
Here’s the new Beat Sheet:
WEEK 1: SPIRIT WEEKChapter 1 – School Spirit [Opening conflict – Meeting the Romance – Opportunity for Change – Resistance to the opportunity]Chapter 2 – Myron, Leth & Drake [Protagonist in daily life – Meeting friends]Chapter 3 – Snow inHellCalifornia[Point of No Return – Opportunity Accepted.]WEEK 3: HOMECOMINGChapter 4 – School Bus of Love [Entering the New Situation]Chapter 5 – Pep Rally [Meeting friends – Problem Brings Them Together.]Chapter 6 – Coronation [Problem Drives Them Apart.]WEEK 3: HELL HOUSEChapter 7 – Fight [Problem Brings Them Together.]Chapter 8 – Key [Crisis hits]Chapter 9 – Ghulinom [Terrible Secret Revealed]WEEK 4: HALLOWEENChapter 10 – Tartarus [All Seems Lost]Chapter 11 – Trick [Self-Sacrifice & Symbolic Death]Chapter 12 – Treat [Final Showdown / Conclusion]
Next, I expanded the Beat Sheet to block out the scene by scene outline. Again, you can see that I varied the structure of this outline to meet the specific needs of this book. Since the book is first person, keeping track of PoV was not a big issue for me here as it is in my Unfinished Song books.
Also, I don’t really need to remind myself about having a Hook and a Cliffhanger, it’s fairly internalized by now. (In the revision stage, I’ll check my scenes again just to make sure each is as strong as it can be.) Instead, I simply listed the scenes within each chapter. These scenes may or may not be separated in the draft.
CHAPTER ONE: SCHOOL SPIRIT
LOCATION: Darkgate High School, GhulinomSCENE 1 – Ghulinom; Darkgate High School; GateBrandon arrives at a maximum-security facility…his high school. He is feared and respected because everyone, even the armed guards thing he is a drug dealer.SCENE 2 – Ghulinom, Darkgate High School; Math ClassHis “DUST” is really Magic Dust, which he keeps in a thermos. It’s one of 3 things his mother left him before she died. While he waits for geometry to start, he wraps a bindle of Dust and puts it in his sock. Someone in a black trench coat trips over him and is so frightened that he runs off.Class begins. MR. ARKANE, the teacher, a demon begins to say odd things about planes and dimensions. Brandon looks up and meets his black eyes, and realizes that Arkane is speaking telepathically…also that he can’t look away.Until his shoe comes alive and starts eating his foot.SCENE 3 – Earth; Cleargate High School; QuadBrandon rushes out into the quad where he reaches into his thermos for Dust…but it’s empty. All he has left is the Key left to him by his mother. Desperate, he grabs it, and it sends him to another dimension: Earth. At first he thinks he’s spirit-walking, but then he realizes he’s on Earth in the flesh.A kitten leaps into his arms, followed by a beautiful blonde who says, “Hand over the cat. It’s needed in a murder investigation.” She is CLARE. She sees that he’s green (to his horror) but thinks he’s wearing a costume for Spirit Week.Three more humans arrive: DAMIAN, tall, dark and handsome, who possessively puts his arm around Clare’s waist; TIFFANY, who is dressed like a Christmas present, and a third girl who says the cat his hers. But when Brandon hands her the cat, he realizes she’s a ghost…and the other three realize he can see ghosts…just as they can. Clare explains her family are Ghulstrykers, with an Ancestral Weapon to fight ghosts. A ghost walks through her and she blows his head off. Because of that, they invite him to join them in the library to discuss the murder.SCENE 4 – Earth; Cleargate High School; LibraryIn the library, Clare explains that the ghost WALIDA ABOUDI was killed by another ghost, DORCAS LYNCH, the vengeful victim of a Homecoming prank. To draw the ghost out, Clare wants to run for Homecoming, but isn’t sure how to go about it. (Tiffany says she would, but as an immortal, it wouldn’t be fair.) Brandan says bribery works and experiments with the Key to make a candy with her name. When he makes one candy with her name on it, he’s pleased with himself and shows it to her.SCENE 5 – Earth; Cleargate High School; QuadScreams outside. They rush to find a rain of candy with “Clare & Brandon” on them. Clare is humiliated. Brandon says he didn’t do it; maybe it’s a Halloween Miracle. Or maybe, he thinks, that Key is a lot more powerful than I realized. Except… he never would have put his own name on the candy.Clare is angry. Tiffany tells Brandon he would be better for her than Damian. Damian shows up and Tiffany seems frightened of him.
But Brandon freaks out when he thinks about being with Clare. He’s not good for her. Brandon suddenly wonders what he’s doing there.
A student walks by and Clare casually kills him. Brandon is horrified but she explains the student was actually a spirit who didn’t belong on Earth. Brandon realizes this applies to him every bit as much…and Clare is right. He doesn’t belong.
How could he have thought he could go back to Earth? He decides to go home to Ghulinom where he belongs.
Tomorrow I’ll show some samples of my Rich Outline vs Draft.
- by Tara Maya
Stalling on Start Line
I was planning to write a wry post today about everything that went wrong over Thanksgiving. I figured it’d be a shoo-in since, (a) it was Thanksgiving and (b) it was at my house. I hosted Thanksgiving at my house this year for the first time. Disappointingly, no disasters occurred to provide me writing fodder. 😉
However, I have small children, and they can always be counted on to say something worth writing down.
Normally at bedtime, I tell the kids a story, but last night, excited by the holiday, my four year old announced he wanted to tell the story. It went something like this…
SON: Once upon a time… This is the beginning of the story, Mommy, that’s why I said, ‘Once upon a time.
ME: Great beginning!
SON: Once upon a time there were three little bears… Mommy, actually this is a story from Real Life. It really happened. So I can’t say ‘Once upon a time.’
ME: You don’t have to use ‘Once upon a time.’ Just start the story without it.
SON: I don’t know how to. What’s the word for a Real Life Story?
ME: A Real Life Story.
SON: No, I mean what’s the word to start it?
ME: Ah, I see. You can just say, ‘Once there were three little bears…’
SON: I have to start my story over.
ME: Okay.
SON: Once upon a time…oops. Mommy, I messed it up!
ME: Just start over. ‘Once there were three bears…”
SON: Mommy, STOP! I’m telling the story.
ME: So tell it.
SON: Once there were three bears…. Mommy, let’s trick the people. Even though the story Really Happened, let’s pretend it’s a Pretend Story, and say, ‘Once upon a time.’ It will be such a funny trick.
ME: It sounds hilarious.
SON: Once upon a time, there were three bears… but you know it’s not REALLY ‘Once upon a time…’ Once upon a time there were three bears and um… umm…. I need to start over.
ME: Honey, it’s getting late and we need to go to bed. I think you should just keep going and finish your story.
SON: Mommy, I’m TRYING but you keep destructing me!
OLDER SON: Mom, do we have to listen to him tell the bedtime story? Your stories are way better.
SON: Once upon a time there were three bears….
We never did get to the end, even though my son already knew exactly how he wanted to end it (‘And they lived happily ever after.’) It was adorable (and at 10 o’clock at night also exhausting) but also instructive. I realized I have the exact same problem!
I will often obsess so much about beginning a story right that I have a hard time moving forward. Right now, for instance, I have two potential beginning chapters, and I’m not sure which to use. Now if this were a matter of deciding the direction for the rest of the entire story, then it would justify taking the time to think through the decision carefully. However, these scenes aren’t mutually incompatible. One occurs earlier than the other… basically, I am wondering how soon to start the story.
I’ve forced myself to move forward. It’s a question that will resolve itself by writing deeper into the story.
- by Tara Maya
NaNoWriMo Tip #23: Writing Order
 |
| I usually add milk FIRST. I’m a rebel. |
These are my personal tips for NaNoWriMo. You know the drill. Take only what works.
You don’t have to write a book in the order it will be read.
There are good reasons to start at the beginning and write until you come to the end. Even with a detailed outline, things change as you write, and you may find that you need to adjust your end to changes you’ve made to the beginning. But if you have a story told essentially in reverse—a story which revolves around a great secret, like a police procedural or a trick-ending novel like The Story of Pi—you might find it makes more sense, for the exact same reason, to write the book backwards, Memento style, even though that’s not how it will be written. (Unless you ARE writing Memento, in which case you definitely will want to write it backwards, or in other words, forwards. Confused yet?)
 |
| Because body tatoos are the best way to leave yourself reminders. |
There are other reasons you may want to write the book out of order. If you have substantial subplots or a large number of PoV characters, parallel story lines or flashback scenes, it’s often easier to write all the same PoV scenes in a row, to keep a consistent tone, and then drop them into the right slots in the book. This is my standard writing method for the PoV-rich Unfinished Song series. Within each PoV, I write in chronological order.
If you write out of order, the trick is to make sure that you don’t trip yourself up. You have to carefully coordinate each character’s storyline so they merge logically.
If you prefer these Tips as an ebook you can buy it here for $0.99: